Acquisition of a Cathodoluminescence System: Applications to Sedimentologic, Mineralogical, Geochemical, and Structural Analyses

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9906029SoreghanThis grant provides partial support for the purchase of a cathodoluminescence (CL) system that will replace a 20-year old (non-functional and irreparable) Nuclide CL scope. The proposed equipment consists of a PATCO/Nuclide ELM-3R Luminoscope attached to an Olympus B-Max 50 research microscope. To aid in the acquisition of typically low-light CL images, the microscope will be equipped with a Diagnostic Instruments SPOT digital camera. A dedicated computer (400 MHz Pentium II or equivalent) and image analysis software (e.g., Adobe Photoshop) will allow for processing of the digital photographs. Many minerals (e.g., calcite, dolomite, quartz, feldspar, diamond) exhibit luminescence when bombarded by an electron beam (Marshall, 1988). Impurities and/or lattice defects within minerals significantly affect the luminescence phenomenon; accordingly cathodoluminescence microscopy is a powerful tool for the study of compositional and structural variations in minerals. Its use in sedimentary petrography is well established (e.g., Machel and Burton, 1991), but it is also extremely valuable for other geochemical and structural studies (Sippel and Spencer, 1970; Dorobek and Watkinson, 1988; Marshall, 1988, Onasch and Davis, 1988; Perny et al., 1992). The equipment will be used by four investigators for varied aspects of research and education within the School of Geology & Geophysics at the University of Oklahoma. Anticipated uses include the following: (1) Sedimentary Geology Research and Education (G.S. Soreghan); (2) Quartz of Igneous Origin (D. London); (3) Compaction/Cementation Studies (T.A. Dewers); (4) Microscale Strain Analysis (K.J. Smart).***